Question about wiring behind the fuse box

[SequiMike]

I have a 2008 GS that I bought fairly recently - I am the 3rd owner. While changing the oil, I started looking around inside the bike and noticed several wires behind the fuse box have a kind of fabric tape on them. It doesn't look right to me, but maybe it's something CanAm did when building the bike. Does anyone else's look like this?

IMG_0452_small.jpg

[SequiMike]

I'm still trying to figure out if this is "factory", or if the wires have all been patched. Here's another picture - this one from the outside. All you have to do to look at yours is open the frunk and pop off the black panel at the top.
IMG_0460s.jpg

[Arr MiHardies]

Third party hid ballast wires?

[SequiMike]

I have an RT so I can't go down and check wire for wire.
That doesn't look like stock wiring to me based on what I see on the 2010 RT.

It looks suspicious to me - like maybe the bike had been stolen at one point and hot-wired, although cutting that many wires would not make sense to me. And using what appears to be a cloth-based tape doesn't seem right either. I'll have to see if one or two RS owners will let me peek under their panel at next week's Oyster Run.

[pro10is]

It's not OEM, looks like a hack job. If it were mine I would carefully remove the tape to see what was underneath and then decide how to proceed. If wires were spliced in I would trace them to see where they go and what they do. I would check for the quality of the splices and modifications. If all ok I would carefully retape it with electrical tape (never cloth). If not ok I would remove any mods and fix it correctly.

[SequiMike]

Third party hid ballast wires?

What are ballast wires?

[SequiMike]

It's not OEM, looks like a hack job. If it were mine I would carefully remove the tape to see what was underneath and then decide how to proceed. If wires were spliced in I would trace them to see where they go and what they do. I would check for the quality of the splices and modifications. If all ok I would carefully retape it with electrical tape (never cloth). If not ok I would remove any mods and fix it correctly.

Good advice, and kind of what I had in mind. I'm thinking about making sure any splices are soldered, and replacing the cloth tape with shrink tubing and modest amounts of electrical tape. Will probably start by peeling back the outer jacket that holds the wiring bundle, and go from there.

[billybovine]

Here's what my 09 GS looks like.

P9150005.jpg

[Arr MiHardies]

What are ballast wires?

Wires that run to the ballasts that manage power flow to HID bulbs.

[SequiMike]

Here's what my 09 GS looks like.

P9150005.jpg

Hmmmm. Looking closely, I see some kind of shielding on a few of the wires, so I'm wondering if maybe the early versions got the tape, and the later ones received a more professional covering. Mine is an '08 (#331 off the line). Thanks for taking the picture!!

[Recluze]

Hmmmm. Looking closely, I see some kind of shielding on a few of the wires, so I'm wondering if maybe the early versions got the tape, and the later ones received a more professional covering. Mine is an '08 (#331 off the line). Thanks for taking the picture!!

I have number 104 and have EXACTLy the same thing. I had number 610 and never noticed anything similar. I thought that the previous owner had got into the wiring and effed it up. But the only electrical thing he had on the bike was a lighted license plate bracket. That is a lot of monkeying around with wiring for a lighted license plate bracket so that made no sense..

I have had no electrical problems with my bike. I have never had it in heavy rain either. Some day I am going to take the time to take all of that apart and insulate it properly.

Thanks for sharing this. Let me know how you proceed.

[SequiMike]

I have number 104 and have EXACTLy the same thing. I had number 610 and never noticed anything similar. I thought that the previous owner had got into the wiring and effed it up. But the only electrical thing he had on the bike was a lighted license plate bracket. That is a lot of monkeying around with wiring for a lighted license plate bracket so that made no sense..

I have had no electrical problems with my bike. I have never had it in heavy rain either. Some day I am going to take the time to take all of that apart and insulate it properly.

Thanks for sharing this. Let me know how you proceed.

Well, it's a relief to hear that my wiring/tape mess is not the result of the previous owner messing around with things! There are no extras whatever on the bike, so I couldn't imagine why the wires would be tampered with. Now, I can't imagine why the factory did that, but will assume it was for some good reason. When the weather turns cold, and the bike is pretty much down for the winter, I'll carefully peel things back and see about doing a proper job. I'll let you know what I find and how it goes.

[08 se5]

i have an 08 se5 and my wiring looks like the 09 job. no cloth tape of any kind. i have a couple of short wires that dont go any where ,but are shrink tubed. i think they go to the 3 amp accessory (unswitched) fuse block. they look like factory quality. i'll have to remove the fuse block and see just where they go in. i hope this helped.

[Recluze]

Well, it's a relief to hear that my wiring/tape mess is not the result of the previous owner messing around with things! There are no extras whatever on the bike, so I couldn't imagine why the wires would be tampered with. Now, I can't imagine why the factory did that, but will assume it was for some good reason. When the weather turns cold, and the bike is pretty much down for the winter, I'll carefully peel things back and see about doing a proper job. I'll let you know what I find and how it goes.

Keep in touch with your progress and I will do the same. I am hesitant to 'fix' something that is not yet broken but this looks like it needs attention. My big concern is that I get caught in a gulley washer and then I find out that it is going to be a problem. I seldom ride in the rain but have been known to do so on my other Spyder. Even that one could cough and sputter when it got wet enough.

[Dizneyman]

Keep in touch with your progress and I will do the same. I am hesitant to 'fix' something that is not yet broken but this looks like it needs attention. My big concern is that I get caught in a gulley washer and then I find out that it is going to be a problem. I seldom ride in the rain but have been known to do so on my other Spyder. Even that one could cough and sputter when it got wet enough.

Smart move...